http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=459666

Lots of good ideas from your fellow Californians.

I don’t know if it is legal or not, but maybe this will help. A friend of mine used to have a problem with foxes, so he ordered some wolf piss off the internet and sprayed it around a bit, and has not had a problem with them since.

I don’t know if it is even supposed to work with foxes, much less with coyotes, but my friend is convinced it has solved his fox problem.

I’d have to know the laws in the county where you live to answer your question. But killing one or two probably won’t help. They’ll just be replaced. I have friends who keep donkeys with their livestock. The donkeys will kick and fight off the coyotes. This is interesting,

This page from the California Department of Fish and Game might help. You can do a search on the page for “coyote” to find this:

Q: What “nongame” species can I hunt?

A: The following nongame birds and mammals may be taken at any time of the year and in any number except as prohibited in Chapter 6: English sparrow, starling, coyote, weasels, skunks, opossum, moles and rodents (excluding tree and flying squirrels, and those listed as furbearers, endangered or threatened species).

Don’t know about SoCal but according to the journalist who wrote this article (Perry kills a coyote) it is legal in Austin, Texas to discharge a firearm within the city limits if it is in self-defense. Probably doesn’t hurt to be governor of the state either.

Perhaps a live trap would be of some help. Like this Once you have the beast you can privately do as you please with it without getting caught. I would drop it off somewhere in Oregon.

“the California Department of Fish and Game and a local assemblyman. Healy was told coyotes are usually left alone because they help control the rodent population and do not adapt well when relocated, according to the Parnesses. Healy also told the Parnesses that in Los Angeles, it is illegal to kill coyotes, they said.” Northridge Chatsworth Patch

“Coyotes have no special protection in California and may be killed by any method that is not prohibited by federal, state, or local statutes. Since the passage of a state ballot initiative measure in November 1998, leghold traps cannot be used to capture coyotes except in situations where a human health and safety emergency has been declared by designated officials, or in selected situations where the existence of an endangered species is threatened by predation. Toxicants or poisons used to control coyotes are illegal, with the exception of fumigant cartridges available only to predator control specialists to asphyxiate coyote pups in their dens. No chemical repellents are registered for use in repelling coyotes from property or from livestock. UC Davis

It is legal in my area of NY with the proper hunting license. They may even be hunted at night.

I live in Northern Ca. and have had Coyote issues on and off for years. I too love allanimals and am a nature nut. but I have lost several cats and have had geese for years too, and chickens taken.
The problems are cyclical,depending on the year and the population.
I had the fish and game send out a trapper 2 years ago to thin the “herd” so tospeak and have not had a problem in several years now.

There is no ultimate solution, but, as a goose lover, I would suggest either good weld wire field fencing or a locking barn at night.
If you wish to ultimately keep your ducks and geese safe a locking shelter is a must for night time predation issues.
Geese and ducks learn to herd easily and secure shelter is your best bet, otherwise it is a matter of discovery, and once discovered a Coyote will come back again and again until the particular food source is depleted.

Also…this is breeding/nesting season for all birds and setting geese and ducks are literally sitting ducks during nesting season.
They are completely defenseless while sitting on eggs and the goslings/ducklings are easy prey in their first weeks of life.
Predators know this and will stalk nesting birds.

I am a HUGE waterfowl lover and really, domestic ducks and geese need secure shelter and with it they can live for 12–25 years!

I would put them away at night. Here in Australia so many people keep alpacas with their sheep because they keep the dingos and foxes away. I think a dingo and a coyote are about the same size so it should work with them as well.

Here is a map and the regulations for fur bearing/coyote hunting. I live in the area that can use any weapon – rifle, shotgun, bow, handgun, etc. Night hunting with artificial lighting is permitted. There is no bag limit. Apparently there must be a problem but I have not noticed anything. My neighbor recently shot one on his property that was 55–60 pounds, 25–28kg! That is big for a muscular animal. Especially when they run in packs. They can easily (and often do) take down a 150 pound, 70 kg deer. The howling is really creepy for the uninitiated but I like it.

If I am out at night, alone in the dark with my telescope looking for the latest comet, Panstarrs, or lying on my back in the grass looking up at a meteor shower, I am armed. I’m not stupid.